Hilton Garden Inn NYC Financial Center/Manhattan Downtown — Hotel in New York

I stayed here during the holidays. The location is great- very close to the 1, R/W, 4/5 train stations. The Staten Island Ferry Terminal and the Battery Waterfront Park is right across the street. There are other terminals that’ll take you to IKEA and up to Williamsburg, which is great to tour the East River and offers great views of all three iconic bridges and the Manhattan Skyline. Many attractions are just one train ride away, such as Central Park, Times Square, the World Trade Center, the Rockefeller Center, Downtown Brooklyn, DUMBO, Empire State Building, Fifth Avenue, etc. Penn Station is also one train ride away, which is convenient as I took the Amtrak. I took a scenic walk along the waterfront about a block away and walked to the Brooklyn Bridge. The Charging Bull and the New York Stock Exchange is also a short walk away from the hotel. The location felt safe at night, which is relieving as I was traveling solo for the majority of the trip.

The lobby had ample seating and outlets. The concierge was very helpful with checking me in. There were multiple elevators that were functioning properly and quickly. Ice machines are located on about every other floor. I didn’t eat at the restaurant/bar, but there is that option in case guests would like to settle in for a meal/drink. The gym is located in the basement and has a good amount of equipment and machines. Water bottles are provided. There is also a laundry room with multiple washer and dryer units. Wi-Fi is free and works throughout the hotel.

Undoubtedly, many hotels in New York have smaller rooms, but I was pleasantly surprised on how much room I had to spread out my luggage and other belongings. I had a standard King Room. I didn’t feel cramped, and I brought a lot of stuff. The room felt a tad-bit dated and worn out, as there were a few scruffs on the furniture. I didn’t have a waterfront-facing room, however, I was still pleased as there was a lot of natural light coming from my view. The blackout curtains came in handy as I was still jet lagged for the first couple of days. Though, I do admit my room felt a little dimly lit at night. The wardrobe was small, but it did come with an iron and board. If I remember correctly, the mini-fridge in the room also came with a tiny freezer compartment. There is also a microwave, which really came in handy for warming up my tasty pizza and roti leftovers for breakfast lol. I liked the bathroom. The countertop was spacious, and the lighting was bright and ideal for skincare/makeup. There was a blowdryer, lotion, body wash, shampoo, and the shower had consistent hot water. The thermostat worked great for both heating and cooling. There’s a desk with ample outlets, an ergonomic desk chair and a lamp/desk light. The bed was very comfortable, though there admittedly was a couple of stained sheets the first night. Thankfully, the sheets were changed to cleaner ones throughout the rest of the stay.

I arrived back late to transit delays. I couldn’t thank the staff enough for their understanding and professionalism, as they allowed me a little more time to pack up my belongings and clear out the room. The housekeeping staff was very friendly and helpful. Sadly, I couldn't remember her name, but one of the staff helped me take my bags out of the room and gave me a plastic bag to store and protect my big plushie 😂. I was grateful to leave my bags behind after checkout, which allowed me to explore the city for a few more hours worry-free.

Overall, I enjoyed my stay here. It’s in a perfect location for easy access to Brooklyn, Staten Island, and the rest of Manhattan. The room is bigger than other hotels I’ve stayed in, and the staff were very helpful. The room was comfortable and spacious for me, and the area felt safe. I highly recommend staying here if you want a more affordable hotel in the Financial District/Lower Manhattan with a reputable...

I don't post a ton of reviews, but our room service at this hotel this past St Patrick's Day weekend (March 14-18 2024) was bad enough that here I am. If I were booking a hotel again, these are the things I'd like to know before finding somewhere else.

First, the good:

The front desk staff were very kind and helpful. We were visiting with our 2 late-teenage daughters and they moved our rooms so we were adjacent, they helped us get a taxi to the airport when we left, etc. My husband took advantage of the hotel breakfast and said it was very good.

The okay:

You are very far south in NYC so if you want to go anywhere past Central Park/The Met, it's going to be a loooong subway ride or expensive uber/taxi fare. There are several subway stations nearby that we used and that was nice.

The bad:

Our rooms were almost completely neglected. My husband and I were there for 3 days and our room was only made up once. So TWICE we came back from a long day and our bed was unmade, trash was full, towels were wet, etc. The front desk did send up fresh towels, but that's it. My favorite part of staying at a hotel is coming back, exhausted, from a great day of seeing a new city, and having a freshly cleaned room to collapse in. It sucks to walk in and see an unmade bed. And when I wanted a cup of coffee in the morning, I couldn't, because our kerig coffee/cups hadn't been restocked.

My daughters' room was made up twice and neglected once. We even came back once in the middle of the day, saw that the housekeeping staff were one room away from ours, and left again to give them time to get to our rooms. It didn't matter! Hours later, our rooms were still unattended. (No, we did not have the privacy sign on the doorknob like the night shift desk clerk suggested.)

I did let the desk know and we received fresh towels, but that's it.

A couple things that I would like to know before booking that are outside of the staff's purview: the bathroom door (in a room with a king bed) is a swinging barn door. It does not close or lock. Everything you do in there is partially visible and easily heard by your partner/roommate. I am not a prude, but I DO like privacy for some bathroom activities. That is not available here. the water pressure is horrible. It's practically non-existent and regularly stutters and stops, then restarts. At one point, I actually turned around and spoke to the showerhead: "Hellllooo??" I have rarely had a worse shower. It's entirely possible that it's normal to have that experience being in a big city on the 18th floor. shrug I would still want to know before booking.

So when we visit again, we will be choosing a different...

Checked in to the Hilton garden on water street Manhattan. We arrived around 10:30pm on Wednesday 11/30/22. We’d booked a king room for three nights while we were still on the road, however when we checked we were told they only had a room with a roll in shower, a handicap accessible room. The concierge offered a free upgrade to a room with two double beds and a better view. We declined the offer, and went to the king room with roll in shower. When we got to the room, before putting the bags down, we decided perhaps we should upgrade as the roll in shower curtain didn’t reach the floor and would clearly soak the whole bathroom. The room was a little small for us and our dog who was traveling with us. We went back to concierge, asked for upgrade to the double bed better view etc….. They accommodated us and we took the elevator to the next floor. It was exactly one floor and directly above the previous room. Same view, not that it was of any importance, but the double beds made for much less room. Again before setting bags down we asked for the other room back. I didn’t mention anything about the views, or that in no way was it an upgrade, just that it was more cramped. I understand the back and forth was probably a little annoying, but the room was paid, I was told no refunds. They said they couldn’t give us the old room back because it had been marked as dirty. Again we didn’t put our bags down, but because we’d checked in, their computer had it marked as occupied. The woman at the front desk was extremely rude and unhelpful. I walked around the corner to the Hampton asked for a room which they had. Back to Hilton garden inn. Told the concierge we were going to check out. She calls her manager, miraculously she can just uncheck the room as being dirty. Huh. So.. back in the king room with the soso view more room and roll in shower.

Next morning… the bathroom door gets closed, it’s a pocket style sliding door.. and underneath the door in the main room lying in wait for me are some pretty thick corn husky toe nails accompanied by a few strands of hair that didn’t look like they came from a head.

I brought the picture back to front desk(12/1/22 Thursday) to show to the staff. I believe they described it as disgusting. I told them I was just letting them know that the toenails were there, and we were checking out to another hotel. They didn’t offer any compensation or refund. We packed up and booked another room at a...